We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
The Morpho-Physio-Biochemical Attributes of Urban Trees for Resilience in Regional Ecosystems in Cities: A Mini-Review
Summary
This mini-review examines the morphological, physiological, and biochemical traits that determine urban tree resilience to stressors like CO2, drought, and heat. The authors propose an integrated research framework linking ecosystem resilience to urban tree physiological responses to combined environmental stressors.
Increased urbanization means human beings become the dominant species and reduction in canopy cover. Globally, urban trees grow under challenging and complex circumstances with urbanization trends of increasing anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, high temperature and drought stress. This study aims to provide a better understanding of urban trees’ morpho-physio-biochemical attributes that can support sustainable urban greening programs and urban climate change mitigation policies. Globally, urban dwellers’ population is on the rise and spreading to suburban areas over time with an increase in domestic CO2 emissions. Uncertainty and less information on urban tree diversification and resistance to abiotic stress may create deterioration of ecosystem resilience over time. This review uses general parameters for urban tree physiology studies and employs three approaches for evaluating ecosystem resilience based on urban stress resistance in relation to trees’ morphological, physiological and biochemical attributes. Due to the lack of a research model of ecosystem resilience and urban stress resistance of trees, this review demonstrates that the model concept supports future urban tree physiology research needs. In particular, it is necessary to develop integral methodologies and an urban tree research concept to assess how main and combined effects of drought and/or climate changes affect indigenous and exotic trees that are commonly grown in cities.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Responses of Physiological, Morphological and Anatomical Traits to Abiotic Stress in Woody Plants
This review examines how trees and woody plants respond to environmental stresses including drought, flooding, extreme temperatures, heavy metals, and microplastics. Microplastics in soil can disrupt water transport and nutrient uptake in trees, potentially affecting forest health and the broader ecosystem. The effects of combined stresses, such as microplastics plus drought, are not simply additive and need further study.
Better Forests, Better Cities
This report evaluates how forests inside and outside city boundaries provide benefits to urban residents, from air and water purification to mental health and temperature regulation. It examines what actions cities can take to protect, restore, and sustainably manage these forests. The report serves as a comprehensive resource connecting urban forestry to public health and resilience.
Assessing the Influences of Leaf Functional Traits on Plant Performances Under Dust Deposition and Microplastic Retention
This study assessed airborne microplastic accumulation on the leaves of ten urban plant species in an Indian city, finding fragments and films were most abundant, and that leaf functional traits (surface texture, wax content) significantly influenced both microplastic retention and the plants' biochemical stress responses.
Abiotic and Biotic Stress Cascades in the Era of Climate Change Pose a Challenge to Genetic Improvements in Plants
This review examines how simultaneous abiotic and biotic stress cascades under climate change compound challenges for genetic improvement of forest plants. The study synthesizes how overlapping stressors interact to overwhelm plant adaptive capacity and discusses implications for breeding and biotechnology strategies.
Climate change reshapes plant trait spectrum to explain biomass dynamics in an old-growth subtropical forest
A 26-year demographic study in an old-growth subtropical forest found that climate change is reshaping plant functional trait combinations, with shifts in the trait spectrum explaining observed declines in carbon accumulation rates.